Chelseafc.com continues a look back over another eventful year at the club with the words reported at the time. As autumn rolled on, a mighty home run finally ended.

Three straight wins, top of the Premier League, top of our Champions League group - there was a feelgood factor at Stamford Bridge in late October - but it was about to be shattered.

The arrival of Liverpool brought together the only two sides among the 92 league clubs yet to taste defeat in any competition.

It was Chelsea who blinked first as our 86-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League came to a halt. An early Xabi Alonso shot, deflected in off Bosingwa was enough to end the run which stretched back to February 2004, and send Benitez's men top of the league.

Typically when these two sides had met up to then, the match afforded few chances to either side, Liverpool's deep-lying midfielders thwarting dominant Chelsea on a wet afternoon.

The Blues' best chance fell to Ashley Cole in the second half, but he was unable to convert substitute Franco Di Santo's nod down.

Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on 26-10-2008
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Sinclair 84), Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Mikel; Kalou (Belletti 57), Deco, Lampard, Malouda (Di Santo 57); Anelka.
Booked Malouda 53, Cole 55, Deco 78
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Reina; Arbeloa, Agger, Carragher, Aurelio; Alonso, Mascherano; Riera (Hyypia 89), Gerrard, Kuyt (Lucas 87); Keane (Babel 59).
Goal Alonso 9
Booked Riera 21, Gerrard 38, Mascherano 64.

'We didn't play as Chelsea played in other games because we didn't have space,' analysed Scolari after his first defeat as Blues boss.

'They put eight players out defensively, and there was no space to work the ball, only to cross. This is not the football that we play. We need to try to play on the ground, not high balls because I don't have big strikers.'

Drogba was still out, as was the creative Joe Cole and Michael Ballack who had required an operation on a nerve problem in his feet.

There was sadness at the end of a magnificent home run of results that had underpinned two championship wins. But there was also the need to celebrate a record that had knocked Liverpool's previous best out of sight by 23 additional games.

'And here are the news headlines,' wrote Chelseafc.com columnist Pat Nevin in the wake of the game.

'Thousands stranded in hurricane in the Cumbrian hills. The FTSE share index drops off the edge of a cliff. Peter Mandelson tells the truth and Chelsea lose narrowly at home in the league after more than four-and-a-half years.

'Maybe it is me but the end of an era, apocalyptic reporting seems just a touch over the top for losing a league game against one of the top sides in the country.

'Liverpool may think it is the start of a new dawn but it is just that, one game - only the possible start of a new era for the club who haven't won the league title for many years, not necessarily a new order.'

It had been a good weekend for Liverpool, Man United only drawing at Everton. What our result did herald with hindsight was more difficulties to come on the home front.

The chance for an instant reaction came away from home with a visit to surprise package Hull who were now on the same points as us a quarter of the season in.

'Chelsea need to find an answer to the swamping tactic that currently nullifies our full-backs and reduces goalscoring opportunities to a handful,' insisted the Pre-Match Briefing, before adding hopefully:

'It's debatable whether Phil Brown's commendable Tigers have the personnel to tame Chelsea in the Liverpool/Roma fashion.'

It was correct. Joe Cole was restored after injury but it was Lampard who eased any anxiety after just two minutes.

On the left of the area and from a position where normal players would have been looking to cross, he flighted the perfect lofted ball over a bewildered Myhill in goal and into the far side of the net. It was the chipped goal he had been working towards all season and was surely the team's league goal of the season.

Hull struck a post and Geovanni forced Cech to twice save before Chelsea's second goal was scored shortly after the break.

As a long ball bounced just outside the home penalty area, Anelka capitalised on horrible hesitancy by a crowd of two central defenders and a goalkeeper. He nicked the ball from in front of Myhill and twisted to smash home for his sixth of the season.

Malouda made up for previous misses by scoring the third and final goal, turning in a cross from inside the six-yard box. Carvalho earned an assist with a superb outside-of-the-boot ball after combining with Cole but the defender would leave the match early with a hamstring injury that would hamper him for the rest of the season.

Hull 0-3 Chelsea at KC Stadium on 29-10-2008
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Ivanovic 85), Carvalho, Terry (c), A Cole; Mikel; J Cole (Belletti 53), Deco (Kalou 77), Lampard, Malouda; Anelka.
Scorers Lampard 2, Anelka 49, Malouda 74.
Booked J Cole 14, Deco 55.
Hull (4-4-2): Myhill; McShane, Turner, Zayatte, Dawson; Marney (Garcia 71), Ashbee (c), Boateng (Halmosi 62), Geovanni; King (Windass 83), Cousin.

If October was the month that suggested cracks were starting to appear, November was the one that confirmed it, ending with a run of results that saw us lose vital ground in both Premier and Champions League competitions.

Despite the earlier defeat at home to Liverpool, few would have foreseen what was to come after the comfortable win up at Hull, followed up with a thumping victory at home to Sunderland on the first day of the month.

Five goals were scored and many more could have followed. Scoring chances at the Bridge had clearly been saved for a rainy day and this afternoon was torrential.

Nicolas Anelka helped himself to a hat-trick, all from close range, while Alex (replacing hamstring victim Carvalho) advanced from the back to claim one for himself. Frank Lampard bagged the other with his third header of the season, and his 100th goal in a Chelsea shirt.

After his injury at the beginning of October, Didier Drogba returned for half an hour on the first day of November, while Mineiro made his bow with 16 minutes remaining and Petr Cech kept his 100th clean sheet.

All in all it had been a very good day for Chelsea, and we returned to the top of the table with a goal difference of +23, the only negative being Ashley Cole's injury that would see him replaced by Wayne Bridge in Rome.

Chelsea 5-0 Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on 01-11-2008
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (c), A Cole (Bridge 36); Mikel; J Cole (Drogba 62), Deco, Lampard, Malouda; Anelka (Mineiro 74).
Scorers Alex 26, Anelka 29, 45+1, 52, Lampard 50.
Sunderland (4-4-2): Fulop; Chimbonda, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, McCartney; Malbranque (Henderson h-t), Whitehead (c), Tainio, Richardson; Jones (Cissé 57), Waghorn (Diouf h-t).
Booked Tainio 38

Sunderland manager Roy Keane was graceful in defeat. 'There is no shame in losing to a top team like that,' he said. 'I never had a problem in my career with praising the opposition and I am happy to do that today.

'They've got the eye of the tiger back and with a new manager coming in and with all that coming together, they're my favourites to win the league.

'I said it would be Manchester United last year, and I was right, but it's difficult to win it three years in a row, and I think that gives Chelsea the edge.'

With two big wins on the spin, spirits were high heading to Rome to face Roma. There was hope that it wouldn't be the only visit to the Italian capital in the season with the Champions League Final to be held in the city, but Luiz Felipe Scolari remained focused on the game to come.

'May is a long way away, we need first to win tomorrow, or a minimum of one point tomorrow. Tomorrow the show is not for May, tomorrow we are here to beat Roma,' he stressed.

On the night it didn't happen and Luciano Spalletti's side, who were struggling in Serie A, exposed a number of Chelsea faults.

As Chelseafc.com said, 'Chelsea were three goals down to a reviving Roma before John Terry netted one back - and it is only one win in eight now away from Stamford Bridge in the Champions League. This first defeat on the road under Scolari brings to an end an 11-game undefeated away game run in all competitions.

'To make the evening worse, Deco was sent off with 10 minutes to go and will now serve a one-match ban.'

What had gone wrong? The Blues had started so brightly.

Roma when they advanced were finding it tough to get past the formidable Mikel, let alone the Chelsea defence and when one quick pass did expose the backline, an Alex sliding block was enough to thwart Vucinic.

Deco was booked for tripping Totti as the Italian burst past him into space midway inside the Chelsea half, Mikel having lost grip of possession.

It was from that free-kick that the home side took a lead they had scarcely threatened.

Played out wide to the right, the ball was whipped in by unmarked Cicinho to former Chelsea loan player Christian Panucci who was let free by the entire defence to tap in from five yards with Cech helpless. Big questions were asked in the Blues backline.

At half-time Scolari replaced Joe Cole and Malouda with Belletti and Drogba.

Belletti was to play down the right with Anelka mobile behind Drogba but hopes that would turn the match in the away team's favour were hit hard after only two minutes, Totti poking the ball cleverly through to Brighi who worked a pass to Vucinic to crack a shot from 20 yards past Cech's dive.

Mistakes had crept into the Chelsea play as pressure bore down and the killer third goal came on 57 minutes as the wheels began to fall off the performance.

Mikel had his pocket picked by Vucinic who ran from his own half with our young midfielder giving chase and diving into the tackle but Vucinic escaped to drill the ball past Cech and inside the near post. Roma, playing in a half-empty stadium, were now a team reborn.

With 15 minutes to go Terry netted a consolation, though in truth it was anything but.

Roma 3-1Chelsea at Stadio Olimpico, Rome on 04-11-2008
Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Kalou 62), Alex, Terry (c), Bridge; Mikel; J Cole (Belletti h-t), Deco, Lampard, Malouda (Drogba h-t); Anelka.
Scorer Terry 75
Booked Deco 33
Sent-off Deco 80
Roma (4-1-2-1-2): Doni; Cicinho, Mexes, Juan, Panucci; De Rossi; Perrotta (Taddei 71), Brighi; Pizarro; Totti (Baptista 61), Vucinic (Riise 87).
Scorers Panucci 33, Vucinic 47, 57.
Booked Perotta 67.

'We made mistakes at critical times and gave two good chances to Roma, and they took the goals and killed the game,' Scolari assessed.

'Roma played some games in Italy not very well but they have very good players and when you make mistakes as we did, it gives chance to these players. When Roma make the first goal in any game, it is difficult to draw.'

Terry was not impressed with the performance and made his feelings known to Chelsea TV.

'They hadn't won for two months and we gave them the perfect start by not getting out of first gear. It gave them the confidence they needed and the team was all over the place,' he admitted.

'We showed no sign of the fight and determination that over the last few years has got us to where we've been.'

So a reaction was needed as we returned to England and the bread and butter of league action. Blackburn were the opponents in the north west, and for the third successive game, there was heavy rain.

Chelsea equalled a club record ninth consecutive league away win, as Anelka claimed his fifth and sixth league goals in three games, his 10th of the season installing him at the top of the Premier League charts.

Lampard, Deco and Mikel all went close as well, but found Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson in inspired form.

He was unlucky to be beaten by Anelka's deflection for the first, but was helpless to deny the classy second, created by Lampard's genius.

Scolari's only change heading to Ewood Park was enforced, as Salomon Kalou came in for Joe Cole, and a dominant performance followed. That it took 38 minutes for Anelka to deflect home the opener was the only surprise, the Blues were a yard quicker than Blackburn all over the field.

Blackburn 0- 2 Chelsea at Ewood Park on 09-11-2008
Chelsea(4-1-4-1): Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry (C), Bridge; Mikel; Kalou (Belletti 61), Deco, Lampard, Malouda; Anelka.
Goals Anelka 38, 67
Booked Malouda 85
Blackburn (4-5-1): Robinson; Simpson, Khizanishvili, Nelsen (C), Olsson; Villanueva, Grella (Mokoena 44), Andrews (Derbyshire h-t), Warnock, Gamst Pedersen; Roberts (Fowler 77).
Booked Warnock 62, Simpson 80

Scolari, on his 60th birthday, will have been satisfied with the reaction but left the talking to others. JT had his say.

'It was the response we wanted, the talk in the dressing room before the game was we can't perform like that [match in Rome] again, we have to match Blackburn which we did and we got the performance as well.'

To be continued…